You know those days when life gets really tough?  Like you get a parking ticket on your Prius because the Hummer behind you made it impossible to back out?  And so you attached a large hook and chain to the Hummer, kick your tow truck into gear, dragging the Hummer into oncoming traffic, where it is smashed into a million pieces as everyone cheers? I digress.  Because recently, I had the exact opposite of a tough day when we got to open up a few bottles of our top-rated green wines.  And after a bit of sipping, sniffing, and (sometimes) spitting, here’s what we found!

Recently, Greenopia's research team rated 25 wines on their sustainability and eco-friendliness.  We looked at the growing practices, transportation, building logistics, and attributes of the wine packaging to determine just who has the greenest brands out there.  Which is all great.  But how do they taste? 

The first bottles we opened up were from Frog’s Leap.  And we love us some Frog’s Leap.  This wine from Northern California gets three out of four leaves.  They are organic, and they are dry farmed.  (This means that they don’t require huge amounts of water that many vineyards use.)  They have an LEED certified building on their property, and they use solar energy.

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And they got so many raves from our green tasters that I had trouble writing them all down.  First we sampled the Rutherford, which is a Cab Blend, 96% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Cabernet Franc. A 2005 vintage, it was aged in a seasoned oak.  Frog’s Leap claims “ripe, black fruit and nuances play on the nose while richly textured cassius, anise and blackberry unfold on the palate.”  That’s a little beyond my non-expert palate, but I can attest that the wine was extremely smooth and extremely tasty.  Others agreed that it was “robust and complex,” “like silk,” “amazing,” “so good,” and “really nice.”  The most wine-savvy of the group reported that it has a “30 to 45 second finish.”  Why it is so awesome?  It may have something to do with the $75 price tag.  But it in an investment that we are behind.

Next from Frog’s Leap came the 2007 Zinfandel.  This blend is 76% Zinfandel, 19% Petit Syrah, and 5% Carignane.  It “tastes of wild berries and briary fruit marked with a touch of spice.”  This was deemed “not as bold as some Zins.”  It was well-balanced, smooth, and our expert could pick up hints of cherry and boysenberry.  It was “not as fruit forward” as some, and a great food wine for a Zin.  It retails for around $30.

Alma Rosa is another outstanding California organic winery, getting three out of four leaves in the Greenopia ratings. They really specialize in sustainability, including key water conversation efforts.  My favorite fact is that they are one of the few premium wineries that have made a green effort in their bottle design.  They use the same shape bottle mold for all wines (regardless of varietal) which cuts down on waste in the bottle production process.  How can you not love this winery? 

Alma Rosa sent over a 2007 Pinot Noir and a 2006 Chardonnay for us to sample.  Unfortunately, the two bottles did not survive transport, and we were therefore unable to provide a fair tasting of their material.  So allow me to improvise!  The 2006 Chardonnay is “cold fermented in steel tanks without malolactic fermentation.  It “shows some of the citrus purity of the fruit, with ripe pear meets apricot flavor/aromas, and a pleasing crisp toastiness shot through by a sleek streak of vanilla.”   The Pinot Noir claims to be “dominated by a mix of fresh crushed berries and dark cherries, shot through with a floral-spice element and a beet-root-meets-cola essence.” They both go for around $30.

Demetria is another solid California wine with an eco-friendly bent. We gave them two out of four leaves, with points for making biodynamic wines and using natural cork for their wine stoppers.  First we tried the 2006 Syrah “North Slope,” retailing for about $35. As Demetria tells it, “on the palate, dark fruits of black cherry and currants combine with tar and tobacco into a smoky spiciness reminiscent of a classic Cornas.”  We found that it had a distinct, powerful taste to it – it was deep, dark, and fruity.  And you definitely want to let it breathe for a while. 

And finally, we sampled the 2006 Cuvee Papou, which goes for around $28. This blend is 33% marsanne, 24% viognier, 24% grenache blanc and 19% roussanne.  As they tell it, “the 2006 vintage shows hints of blood orange marmalade evolving into tropical fruits and Indian spices.”  And it got high marks all around from our tasters.  It was deemed “complex,” “smooth,” “mild but fruit forward.”  Our expert taster was able to pick out hints of pepper and felt it was pleasant complex.  He then went on to suggest that it would be great with spicy food!